KAMALAMBA NAVAVARANAMS OF MUTHUSWAMI DIKSHITARДЎ.

Some scholars believe that Sri chakra matangi (Suruti) is appropriate for Mangala krti. For the 6th avaranam in Hindolam, another version also exists in Khanda Matya with largely different lyrics.ДЈ. The composer uses the root bha, to ask the Goddess to resort to him, to turn her attention towards him.Дў. KAMAKSHI NAVAVARANAMS OF OOTHUKKADU VENKATA KAVIДЎ. This article attempts to take a bird's eye's view of both these great composers' Navavaranams. They can be rendered at any time of the year. Dikshitar has few to rival him in planning and executing grand themes like vibhakti krtis on Rama, Krishna, Kartikeya and masterpieces like Sri Rajagopala (Saveri), Ranganayakam (Nayaki), Chetashri (Dwijavanti), to name a few.Д«ut, in reality, the Navavaranams of these two great seers have a far greater significance than this glittering annual festival of nine nights. He is one of the greatest composers in world music and arguably the most complete composer in Indian music in the sense of his familiarity with Carnatic, Hindustani and Western music. Muthuswami DikshitarВ (1773 - 1835) needs no introduction to music lovers. The doyen of Carnatiac music Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer had little hesitation in stating in a commendation of Sankaranarayanan's book (mentioned above) that 'Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi is in the same stature as the famed Trinity of Carnatic Music'. Only recently, a majority of his works have been discovered by the music field at large and these reveal that he possessed tremendous scholarship in both Sanskrit and Tamil and was a master of melody and rhythm, who composed hundreds of pieces suitable for music, dance, operas and musical discourses. Venkata Kavi attained enormous popularity through mellifluous compositions in Tamil such as Alaippayude (Kanada), Taye Yashoda (Todi), Pal vadiyum mukham (Nattaikkuranji) but these are in reality a small side of him. Oottukkadu Venkata KaviВ is said to have lived between the period of Purandara Dasa-Annamacharya and the Trinity and his period is placed roughly between 17.

Parthasarathy, in his foreword to Sankaranarayanan's book, 'Kamakshi Navavaranams,' states that 'Venkata Kavi's command over Sanskrit is breath-taking but the language used by him in many places is abstruse, as it ought to be, as the subject is esoteric.'

It is now fairly well accepted that Venkata Kavi was the first to compose Navavarana krtis. Another renowned composer, Swati Tirunal, has composed a set known as 'Navaratri krtis' addressed to Lakshmi, Saraswati and Devi but these do not have the avarana ritualistic details like the other two. They are Oottukkadu Venkata Kavi and Muttuswami Dikshitar. Two of the greatest composers in Carnatic music have composed krtis specifically intended for this occasion. This kind of ritual is said to have originated sometime around the 10th century AD and is followed by certain sects even today. It must be noted that each avarana has its own set of rituals associated with it and those practicing this worship are generally required to be thoroughly aware of details such as chakra, yogini and mudra devatas associated with it. An avarana may be understood as a covering, a veil that must be removed in order to reach the supreme Shakti, residing at the centre point (bindu). The Navavarana pooja forms the mantric-tantric ritualistic part of Devi worship, associated with the Srichakra pooja.

Sri chakra of raja rajeswari kalpa